Posted: March 15, 2016 Contributor: administrator
Girls Using The Most effective Birth Control Methods Are Less Likely to Use Condoms
When you are a sexually active woman, what is your main health concern? The most common answer is likely to be unintended pregnancy. It’s sort of a trick question though… Rather than just one main concern, you should have several when it comes to your health. New research reveals that girls in high school using the most effective methods of birth control (IUDs and implants) are far more likely to abandon condom use.
False sense of security
Perhaps one downside of these very effective methods of birth control is that they give us a false sense of security. While pregnancy is unlikely if no other form of protection isn’t used, sexually transmitted diseases and infections are facing zero barriers. This situation has revealed a very real problem.
IUDs and the pill do not protect against STDs
It’s not even exclusively those with IUDs and implants in reality. How many of us ladies (regardless of age) have fallen into this false sense of security while on the pill? While the research focused on high school-age girls, the issue isn’t isolated to just that age group. After a one night stand, are you more likely to go get a morning-after pill (if you aren’t using birth control) than you are an STD panel?
Still use a condom
It’s time for self-awareness and self-preservation to come back to the forefront of the mind. A healthy sex life is just that—HEALTHY, so long as you are taking every precaution to keep it that way.
It’s not just the younger generation, but the older as well. As some of you might recall, when erectile dysfunction drugs became widely used we suddenly saw an uptick in the numbers of older men and women with STDs. While most no longer had to worry about pregnancy with their partner, they too overlooked the all too real possibility of STD transmission.
Studies, like this recent one, serve as a great reminder that just because you are protected against pregnancy, doesn’t mean you are invincible. Let’s look a little closer at the findings:
The Study
Among 100 women with long-acting reversible birth control (IUDs and implants), only about one of these women will face an unintended pregnancy within the year. This is really great news but what about STDs?
Follow the data
The new study looked over data from a 2013 survey of U.S. high school students in grades 9-12. Of the sexually active girls included in the study, (of which there were 2,288), about 2% used long-acting reversible contraception (LARC ). Of these, 22% used birth control pills, 41% used condoms and 12% used withdrawal or various other methods. Sixteen percent reported using no contraceptive method and 6% used the shot, patch or ring. About 2% were unknown what method (if any) was commonly used. Researchers then discovered a more alarming statistic – users of LARC were nearly 60% LESS likely to use condoms when compared to girls using birth control pills.
When is LARC recommended?
Those associated with the study proposed two possible reasons for this. One, LARC is most often recommended for adolescents who rarely use condoms and two, they may see less need for condoms since pregnancy is unlikely. Often clinics will recommend these long-acting birth control methods to youths who have multiple partners, abandon condoms or are in high-risk situations but it’s important that condom use is advised as well.